What is sentience anyway? Dictionary defines it as a synonym of consciousness. People are still arguing what consciousness is and whether animals possess it. No help there. What about Wikipedia? It describes sentience as the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. If I cut a worm in half it squirms and writhes as if it's in pain. I guess worms are sentient.
What's the point of declaring octopuses, crabs and lobsters as sentient, anyway? And why are we lumping octopus with the other two when it's clearly in a class of its own in terms of intelligence?
The Bill, when it becomes law, will establish an Animal Sentience Committee made up of experts from within the field. They will be able to issue reports on how well government decisions have taken account of the welfare of sentient animals with Ministers needing to respond to Parliament.
It won't be long before this committee will be used to impose additional regulations on seafood. That's the goal here. All regulation is there to punish political enemies and reward friends.
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